Pressure-gauge valve device



June l0 1924,

R. H. HENEMIER ET AL PRESSURE GAUGE VALVE DEVICE Filed Dec.

INVENTOR 1 TTORNE Y- Patented June 10, 1924.

UNH'ED STATES T .QFFICE.

"ROBERT HENRY HENEMIER AND ANTHONY P ENSOVECCHIO, OF NEW YORK, N.. Y.

rnnssunneanen VALVE DEVICE.

Application'filed December 12, 1922. Serial No. 606,357.

j-of ay-permanently attached type and which I willfbe specially improved in its Visibility to; the observer to-indicate the pressure in theti Particularlyimportant features of my improvedconstruction consist in the arrangement whereby relatively movable members .of ,the gauge or pressure indicating parts are positioned and arranged exteriorly of vthe valve sleeve or stem proper thereby allowing of the indicating parts to be relatively enla-rged and correspondingly more readily visible and the exterior-1y arranged gauge members are further so arranged ;whereby they enclose the upper portion of ,the valve stem and in consequence function as a protective or'dust cap to cover the externalthreads of the valve stem in the well Y known manner.

sFurther features-and advantages of the present invention will be more fully under- ;;],stoo.d by reference to the accompanying iidrawings wherein a desirable embodiment ,of-myinvention is shown and wherein corresponding reference characters are applied to the similar parts in the several views. A

of the improved structure.

Fig. 2 is a View thereof in elevation.

.--Eig. s3 is a horizontal, sectional view on line-3 of Fig. 1.

In-the approved embodiment of the fea- ,tures of the present invention, as illustrated, lqindicates the valve sleeve or stem which is oftubular formhaving a central longitudinall bore ,2 longitudinally therethrough.

,jThefstem 1 is formed with a shoulder en ,Jarrgement-.3 at its lower end and is exterf nally threaded at 4 throughout its length to r ceivethe vnsualsecuring nuts for attach- ,the stem to the tire tube and for rigidly .335 securing the stem to the rim of the wheel in liligv 1 is a central, vertical, sectional View the well known manner. Within the upper end of the sleeve- 1 a movable stem' member or plunger 5 is fitted to have a close sliding effect within the bore 2. The plunger member 5 is formed, as shown, with a longitudi-' nal opening or bore 6 therethrough,is.internally threaded at 7 to receive the usual valve insert or air intake valve 8 and is formed at its lower end with an annular groove 9, a reduced lower extension having an annular recess 10 and a shoulder 11. A retractile coil spring 12 is positioned within the bore of stem 1 and is attached to the lower end of the plunger memberifiby having its upper end fitted within" the groove 9 and at its lower extremity the springisattached to the rigid valve stemrbybeing outwardly enlarged to engage theshoulder 14: formed within the stem at its lo-w'erend. The shoulder 14 is formed, asi-ndicated, by an annular recess having the lower portion of its wall threaded at 15. i

To provide an air seal between-themovable plunger member 5 and the valvefstem 1, a tube 16 of elastic material, desirably" thin rubber, is fitted within the bore- 2-so as to be inclosed by the spring 12 and is attached at its upper extremity to the lower end of the plunger member 5-by having its upper marginal portion received within the groove 10 and fitted over the-shoulder 11 and at its lower extremity it is secured to the valve stem 1 by having-an outwardly flared portion 17 thereof clamped between a washer 18 and a securing nut 19 threaded to the internal threads 15 and having-a central air passage 20 therethrough.

The valve 8, arranged to seal the upper end of the tubular member 5, is what is commonly termed the valve insert and is here shown as a normally yielding inlet valve of the type as illustrated in Patent No. 1,896,- 517 dated March 4, 1919 wherein the insert is provided at its upper end with a manipulating flange 22 beneath which a'sealing washer 23 is positioned to engage. the marginal edge of the movable stem member or plunger 5, whereby'the latter isse ald In the arrangement in so far'as' described the vstructure is such as to seal "th'lpar'ts' against the outward passagefof aii'afid wherein the tubular plunger memberbjis arranged to be movable longitudinallyw'ith in the stem under the influence of, the ietraotile spring 9 *tendin-g -to *n'aove -the plunge-r inwardly and under the influence of the pressure within the tire exerting an outward force against the influence and opposition of the spring. As a result thereof the plunger member 5 is longitudinally movable and will. assume a position related to or corresponding to the air pressure.

To render the degree of pressure within the tire conveniently readable to the observer there is provided an exteriorly and telescopic indicating means the movable part of which is attached to and movable with the plunger member 5 so as correspondingly to assume a position determined by the air pressure. The indicating means, as here shown, comprises a movable tubular member 28 telescopically fitted to slide within a stationary tubular member 29, the latter being threaded at 30 within a securing or retaining nut 31 having a lower inwardly extending flange 32 formed for threaded engagement with the external thread of stem 1. The movable indicator part 28 at is upper end has an inwardly extended flange or wall 34 having threaded engagement wit-l1 the upper screw threaded flange extension 35 of the plunger 5 which is also adapted to receive and has threaded thereto the usual protective cap 36, as indicated. The mov able indicator part 28 is shown suitably graduated and marked to indicate air pressure which is readable by reason of the characters being exposed with relation to the stationary tubular member 29. An additional feature of the present invention, designed to further facilitate observing the pressure indicated by the movable indicator 28 consists in providing the latter with an additional band or marking as associated with the degree of pressure which is desired to maintain. This may desirably be provided in the form of a colored band 38 of suitable enamel which is readily visible to the observer so as to enable reading of the indicator without close scrutiny. This band of color marking may desirably be of a width covering a range of ten pounds pressure, for instance as shown being of a width to extend between the graduations numbered and 70, when embodied in a device for use upon a tire the pressure of which should be maintained at approximately 60 to pounds. This additional and special marking of the indicator member, as will be understood, may be effected in any desirable manner to obtain a contrast readily visible to the eye and may be in the form of indentations or marking of the metal, but as aforesaid its effectiveness is enhanced by the employment of a color, for instance, a red enamel which produces a pronounced effect which may be observed at a glance to determine the approximate pressure in the tire.

' As best indicated in Fig. 1, the upper marginal edge of the outer indicator tube 29 is turned or flanged inwardly at 10 and the lower marginal edge of the movable indicator tube 28 is outwardly flanged or flared at 11 to maintain a close engagement necessity of employing the special dust. caps as commonly employed for that purpose- As will be further reco nized the external arrangement of the indicating parts allows of these parts being made of substantial size which materially contributes to the facility with which they may be observed. The improved structure, as described, permits of inflating the tire as desired without disturbing the pressure gauge or indicator parts, the operation being performed in the usual manner by simply removing the cap 36 and connecting of the pump coupling to the threaded extension 35 of the plunger 5. In the assembling of the indicator parts it will be understood that the clamping nut 31 is threaded onto the sleeve 1 so as to engage with the felly of the wheel or may be with an additional clamping nut interposed therebetween. To correctly position the stationary indicator member 29, this partis rotated whereby its threaded engagement with the nut 31 will adjust its position longitudinally and with the tire deflated it is initially so adjusted whereby its upper marginal edge will engage the underside of the outwardly flared portion of the upper wall 34 of the movable member 28 which thereby determines the zero position. To properly so function the threaded engagement between the stationary indicator member 29 and the clamping nut 31 is of sufficiently tight fit to maintain the parts in adjusted position.

The movable or plunger member 5 may also be provided with graduation marks so as to be readable to determine the pressure upon the removal of the outer indicator means, as will be readily understood. Also as will be appreciated the described structure and several features of the invention are subject to various modification without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. As illustrative thereof, the movable indicator tube 28 may if desired be formed of transparent material such as a suitable glass and the in-' dicating marking may be applied to the internal surface thereof in any desirable manner. Such a modified structure would have obvious advantages under certain conditions.

Having described our invention we claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising an externally threaded sleeve, a plunger member telescopically associated therewith tobe movable responsive to the air pressure therein and indicating means comprising a movable tubular indicator member attached to the plunger member and arranged to surround a portion of the external threads of the sleeve and a stationary indicator member associated therewith.

2. A device of the character described comprising an externally threaded sleeve, a plunger member slidably fitted within the sleeve to be movable in response to the air pressure and indicating means comprising exteriorly and telescopically arranged members consisting of a stationary member and a movable member, said latter member being attached to the plunger member to be moved thereby, said indicating means being arranged to protectively enclose the external threads of the sleeve and means for securing the stationary indicator member.

3. A device of the character described comprising a sleeve, a movable plunger member telescopically associated therewith to be movable responsive to the air pressure therein and indicating means associated therewith comprising exteriorly and telescopically arranged members consisting of a stationary tubular member and a movable tubular member slidable with relation thereto and attached to the plunger member and one of said indicating members being provided with graduated marking and further provided with a signal band of a contrasting nature coinciding with a range of pressure to be maintained.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 11th day of December A. D. 1922.

ROBERT HENRY HENEMIER.

ANTHONY PENSOVECGHIO. 

